FernFolio » Boys’ Book Club

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

fernfolio — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:13:12 +0000

With his father gone, it falls to eleven-year old Gregor to look after his two-year old sister, Boots, and keep an eye on their senile grandmother, since his mother works long hours to support the family. On a hot July afternoon Gregor grabs the laundry, and Boots, and heads for the laundry room to get a couple of loads started before his mother gets home but, while he’s busy filling the washing machine, Boots toddles after her ball and gets sucked into the heating vent in the wall. Horrified, Gregor jumps after her, and finds himself falling, falling into the Underland, a dangerous and exciting world hidden far below the earth’s surface.
Found by giant meter-high talking cockroaches, Gregor fears that he and Boots will be killed, but the little girl is thrilled with the “beeg bugs,” and soon appears to have them captivated. The roaches take the two children to Regalia, a beautiful underground city which is home to a group of humans whose ancestors followed their leader, Bartholomew of Sandwich, underground some four hundred years previously.
Though the Underlanders and their young Queen, Luxa, treat Gregor and Boots like important guests, and give them rooms in the castle, they make it clear that they expect the two to remain in the Underland. However Gregor is determined to get himself and Boots home, eager to leave the darkness behind and worried about their mother who has already weathered the disappearance of her husband. With Boots secure in a pack on his back, Gregor sneaks out of the castle through its water supply, but is caught and almost eaten by giant rats. They are rescued by the Queen’s guard, and taken back to city, where Gregor learns that the Queen’s advisors believe he is the warrior from the Overland whose actions may save the citizens of Regalia from the armies of the Rat King. Gregor tries to explain that he is no warrior, and that he lacks the skills and experience they need, but the Underlanders are determined that he will lead the quest that will determine the fate of every creature in the Underland.
Giant talking animals, rats, roaches, spiders and bats, humans grown accustomed to life in a world without sun, cryptic prophecies, a proud and difficult young queen, a sly traitor who plots to overthrow a throne, a fearless and loving two-year old, and an ordinary boy desperate to get his sister safely home; all of these help to make Suzanne Collins’ story a thrilling adventure. Gregor the Overlander is the first book of the Underland Chronicles.
FernFolio Editor

Book Clubs

fernfolio — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:41:23 +0000

The school’s three book clubs have wound up for the summer. After a year full of reading and discussion, shared lunches and case loads of Oreo cookies, playing with Photo Story to create book trailers, two electronic conferences and a wiki, and one abortive author visit, student readers are heading out of the school library and into the bookshelves of friends and family, public libraries and bookstores.
The Girls’ Book Club walked to High Park, last Monday, for a picnic. Once the picnic table was laden with home-made lemonade, brownies, cupcakes, cheese and veggies, watermelon, and spring rolls, we settled on picnic rugs to watch the girls’ ‘party pieces’. Girls recited poems, told riddles, read ghost stories they had written, acted out skits. It was a perfect summer afternoon, one made for lying on the grass and looking at the clouds. A perfect end to a lovely year.
On the following afternoon, members of the Boys’ Book Club walked around the corner from the school to Noah’s house for an Italian afternoon. We started with pizza in Noah’s lovely back garden. Then we watched The Thief Lord, based on Cornelia Funke’s wonderful novel, which boys read last Fall. Though I generally prefer books to their screen adaptations, this was a delightful movie. The small changes in plot added to the tension and helped to make up for the loss of some of the magic of Funke’s written text. After the film had ended, we ate dishes of ice cream with Italian treats. I enjoyed an expresso with biscotti! Many thanks to Noah’s mother, who opened her house to us!
The Intermediate Book Club had planned to go to High Park, last Thursday afternoon, but the day was cool and rainy. By lunchtime it became clear that we needed to find another venue. I begged the key to an empty classroom and we took our picnic there, spreading out the food on tables cleared of science projects, and sitting on the floor, since the room is virtually empty. Students started by eating. I will never become accustomed to how much food adolescents can consume! And their food choices! Mind you, I thoroughly enjoyed the jam sandwiches on whole-wheat bread, something I haven’t eaten a lot of since I graduated from Grade 8.
Then it was time for the readers’ pieces. Kate and Gen, who’d come dressed at the Weasley twins, acted out a scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ella read a passage from Pride and Prejudice, complete with characters’ voices, shifts in location to indicate changes in speaker, and explanatory asides. Nuala and Emily sang while Emily played the guitar. There was a very funny reading of a poem by Shel Silverstein, an uproarious ‘singing’ of The Lonely Goat herd by Kaitlyn, helped out by Lauren, a scene acted out by Maxine and Diane from The Way Lies North, one of the novels nominated for the Red Maple prize this year, a poem about Book Club written for the occasion, and more. It was a simply magical afternoon.
To everyone who took part in Book Club this year, have a wonderful summer, and read lots of great books!
FernFolio Editor

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

fernfolio — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:59:13 +0000

Twelve-year old Percy Jackson seems to be plagued by bad luck. Constantly in trouble at his upper New York state boarding school, hounded by a nasty classmate named Nancy Bobofit, and struggling with both dyslexia and ADHD, it’s like he’s an accident waiting for a place to happen. And it happens inside one of the galleries at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which Percy and his classmates are visiting on a field trip. Attacked by Mrs. Dodds, his math teacher, he finds himself killing her with a sword tossed to him by Mr. Brunner, his wheelchair-bound latin teacher. Mrs. Dodds’ body turns into dust before Percy’s stunned eyes and, stranger still, no one, including Mr. Brunner, remembers anything about the incident or the math teacher.
In the weeks following the trip to Metropolitan Museum of Art, Percy’s marks plummet from C- to F, as he relives Mrs. Dodds’ death, and wonders if he’s lost his mind. Even his friend Grover, an awkward, rather hesitant kid made lame by muscular disease, can’t cheer him up or help him to put the nightmares behind him. Then, just as the school year is winding up, Percy decides to pay a visit to Mr. Brunner’s office, and overhears the latin teacher in conversation with Grover. They are talking about him, about the summer solstice, about protecting him, and about keeping him in the dark just a little longer.
When Grover turns up on the same Greyhound bus bound for New York City, after the school year ends, and makes it clear that he wants to escort his friend safely home, Percy gets mad and ditches him as soon as they reach the bus station. He heads home to the apartment shared by his loving mother, Sally, who works in a candy store but dreams of becoming a writer, and his loutish stepfather, Gabe, who lives to play poker, verbally abuse his wife, and make Percy’s life unbearable.
Fortunately, Sally has organized a weekend away for just her and Percy to a cottage at the end of Long Island Sound. There they spend an idyllic day at the beach, a place both of them love because it is where Sally met and fell in love with Percy’s father, who was lost at sea when the boy was only a baby. But nightfall brings a bad storm and an anxious Grover, who demands to know if Percy has told his mother about the incident with Mrs. Dodd. When she learns of it, a very alarmed Sally packs things up and the three of them head off into the storm to get Percy to safety at a nearby summer camp.
Just as they reach the camp, Sally’s car swerves off the road, and Percy and Grover are injured. Sally orders Percy to get to the camp, and takes off through the storm to intercept the creature that has been sent to stop him. But Percy cannot leave Grover behind, and manages to drag him from the car. Together, they reach the camp’s boundaries, where Percy collapses. When he awakens, two days later, Percy discovers that he has lost all that he has ever loved, and that most everything his mother told him about his father was a lie.
Camp Half-Blood, where he now finds himself, is a safe place, and a training facility, for the children of Greek gods. These gods are fond of entering into relationships with humans and the half-blood children that result from these unions are both blessed by special abilities and cursed by the dangers that their unusual parentage attracts. Percy is at first sceptical about this revelation, certain that his father was human, but Grover and Mr. Brunner, who are both far more than Percy could ever have imagined, assure him that his very ability to enter the camp grounds is proof of his parentage. What no one knows, however, is exactly which of the Greek gods fathered Percy, so he is placed in the cabin of the Hermes, the god of travellers, until his parentage can be determined. The boy settles into camp life, and rapidly finds himself involved in a variety of camp activities, such as metalwork, where you can forge your own sword, arts and crafts, where you can sandblast a Grecian statue, ancient Greek lessons, archery, foot racing, wrestling, and capture the flag. But just as he begins to enjoy his new life, Percy is attacked and the camp directors realize that the boy has an enemy inside the camp.
Concerned that he is no longer safe at Camp Half-Blood, the directors send Percy to the Oracle of Delphi, who prophecies that the boy will find what was stolen and see it safely returned. It is then that Percy learns that Zeus’ thunderbolt, the symbol of his power, has been stolen and that he, Percy Jackson, is the prime suspect in the crime. If a terrible war between the gods is to be averted, and Percy is to clear his name, the thunderbolt must be found and returned to Zeus, and by the summer solstice, now only days away. Accompanied by his friend Grover, and Annabeth, a fellow camper who eyes the boy with considerable suspicion, Percy sets off on a quest that will test his mettle and pit him and his companions against greatest and most terrible monsters of Greek mythology.
Written by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief is the first of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, which currently number five. Steeped in mythology, yet action-packed and full of tense moments interspersed with humour, this novel is sure to appeal to boys and girls, and eager and reluctant readers, alike!
FernFolio Editor

Book Clubs – A New Year Begins!

fernfolio — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:33:52 +0000

Last week, I held information meetings for three Book Clubs, the Boys’ Book Club, for boys in Grade 4, 5 and 6, the Girls’ Book Club, for girls in Grades 4, 5 and 6, and the Intermediate Book Club, for students in Grades 7 and 8.
The boys met at lunch on Monday. There was little advance notice and only 5 boys showed up, though I did speak later to a couple of boys who hadn’t been able to get to the meeting. I am hoping that more boys will show up, since we had between 20 and 25 members last year. We are going to start the year with Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, a mysterious tale about two brothers, Prospero and Bo, on the run from a weathly and unpleasant aunt who wants to adopt the younger child and put his older brother in a boarding school.
On Tuesday, I held the first meeting of the Girls’ Book Club and 46 girls came, all eager to begin reading at once! Fortunately, given the large numbers, a couple of Grade 7 and 8 girls came out to help. On the recommendation of one of my most trusty library assistants, the Girls’ Book Club is going to read Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, in anticipation of the movie’s release this January. I have read this book twice, and loved it. It is the story of a young girl, Meggie, and her bookbinder father, Mo, who share a remarkable and dangerous gift, one that makes them the focus of an evil villain’s nefarious plans.
The Intermediate Book Club came on Thursday, fourteen girls and boys who love reading and who, among them, have a wide and deep knowledge of Canadian and international fiction for adolescents. In turn, sort of, students talked about books they have read recently, presented titles for the Book Club’s consideration, and argued, argued, argued. I think perhaps a talking stick might lend some order to the proceedings, but I don’t want to stifle their discussions or their ideas! I have no idea what we are going to read, but went out and bought a copy of The Amulet of Samarkand after hearing one member talk about it! I have set up a wiki so that these students will have an online forum to share their thoughts about the books they are reading. I look forward to reading their reflections.
I look forward to another interesting year of reading and talking with readers!
FernFolio Editor

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

fernfolio — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:09:18 +0000

Flying northwest in a single engine plane to spend the summer in the oil fields of northern Canada with his engineer father, thirteen year-old Brian Robeson is angry over his parents’ recent divorce yet eager to see his father again, after several months’ absence. The pilot seems friendly, and shows Brian how to hold the plane on course as they wing northward, but is preoccupied by a bad case of heartburn, one that proves, in fact, to be a heart attack. When the pilot suddenly dies at the controls, Brian is left alone to fly the plane and to think about what will happen when it runs out of fuel.
After the plane crash lands on a northern lake and sinks, Brian drags himself to shore and finds himself lost and alone in the wilderness. He overcomes pain and injury to find food and shelter, and make fire to ward off mosquitos and other, larger animals, hopeful that a search plane will rapidly find him and get him home safely where he belongs. Instead, the plane, when it comes, does not spot the boy and Brian must face the terrible truth that he will not be found.
So begins the story of how a young boy overcomes great challenges to survive in the wilderness, teaching himself to fish and hunt and store and cook food, and to watch and listen to and feel all that surrounds him so that he can protect himself from predators such as bears and wolves, and, far more challenging, to find within himself the mental strength of character to endure and thrive alone.
Published over twenty years ago, Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, is a classic survival story; the author’s spare writing style has an almost mesmerising quality, and his descriptions of Brian’s hard-won victories, both large and small, stir the reader’s heart and imagination. A must-read novel!
FernFolio Editor

Wolf Pack by Edo Van Belkom

fernfolio — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:21:01 +0000

In the midst of fighting a forest fire in the interior of British Columbia, Forest Ranger Garrett Brock notices something usual, a she-wolf moving in and out of the fire, carrying something in her mouth. After the fire is out, Brock stumbles upon the she-wolf’s cache, and finds her four newborn wolf cubs. Concluding that the she’wolf has been killed in the forest fire, Brock takes the cubs home to his wife, Phyllis, who prepares a warm box for them in the garage. When Phyllis checks on the cubs later, she is shocked to discover they are now human babies. She and Brock adopt the small werewolves and raise them as their own children.
At sixteen, Noble, Argus, Harlan, and their sister, Tora, are normal, well-adjusted teenagers, or as normal as can be expected when you harbour a big secret and have to contend with hair issues that give a whole new meaning to the expression ‘bad hair day’. Anytime the pressure starts getting to them, the pack head into the forest for a long run and to reconnect with nature.
One afternoon the four young werewolves are caught on video tape transforming from human to wolf form. Dr. Edward Monk, the scientist who films them, recognizes the chance filming as his ticket to fame and fortune, and immediately makes plans to capture one of the ‘creatures’. Within twenty-four hours, he has constructed a trap, and caught Tora in it. While Dr. Monk and his crew make arrangements to transfer their captured prize to a research facility in Vancouver, the wolf pack race against time to free Tora and destroy the tapes that document their shape-shifting abilities.
Are Brock and Phyllis prepared to break the law to rescue Tora? Are Noble, Argus and Harlan willing to go as far as killing in order to save their sister? Is there anyone outside the Brock household whom they dare trust to help them? Wolf Pack is an exciting story from beginning to end!
FernFolio Editor

Boys’ Book Club Begins a New Year!

fernfolio — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:25:16 +0000

The Boys’ Book Club, for boys in Grades 4 to 6, has started up again. Some 35 boys have joined, and, after lengthy discussions, we have agreed to start with Edo Van Belkom’s Wolf Pack, which won the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch prize for fiction in 2006.
While we figure out where to borrow or purchase copies of Wolf Pack, we are creating reading alter egos, our true reading selves, to share with one another and with the world at large. I was interested to note that each and every one of these alter egos is imaginative and reflects the inner self of the reader it represents. The fostering of creativity and imagination are two of the greatest gifts that reading bestows. They make for a rich inner life, and, help to nurture the development of creative and problem-solving individuals.
To take a closer look at our pictures, simply click on the images to enlarge them.
FernFolio Editor a.k.a Book Lady

The Devil, the Banshee and Me by L. M. Falcone

fernfolio — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 17:54:14 +0000

Young Will Trenom is used to crazy. He lives with his rather less-than-normal parents in a bed and breakfast run by Mrs. D and her game-show addicted husband. But even Will cannot understand why someone would want to move into a run-down old cottage that stands in the middle of a cemetery, particularly an attractive otherwise normal-looking woman such as Mrs MacGregor. And he isn’t happy when Noah Proffet, a self-proclaimed magician, shows up at the B and B because he recognises the man from a wild chase around the cemetery by an egg-juggling sumo wrestler. Noah has told Will that he is the Devil’s nephew, come to enjoy the antics of humans which he appears to find endlessly entertaining.
Things get more complicated for Will when he sees what he thinks is a ghost flying around and shrieking near the entrance to the cemetery, and then discover that the ghost is actually a banshee who is determined to take Mrs. MacGregor’s soon-to-be thirteen year-old daughter, Megan. As Will learns more about the curse that Megan lives under, he realises that he is destined to help her. But can he figure out the riddle of an incomplete wish in time to save Megan from a fate worse than death?
The Devil, the Banshee and Me is a fast-paced adventure full of moments of side-splitting humour and hair-raising terror. It will keep you breathless and reading to the very last page!
FernFolio Editor

Ulysses Moore: The Door to Time – Diagrams of Argo Manor

fernfolio — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:28:26 +0000

The boys in the Boys’ Book Club have drawn diagrams of Argo Manor. To view their work, click on the images below!

Ulysses Moore: The Door to Time

fernfolio — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:58:07 +0000

For eleven-year-old twins, Jason and Julia Covenant, moving into Argo Manor, a rambling old house perched on a cliff over the sea in Cornwall, is the beginning of a strange and wonderful adventure. With their new friend, Rick Banner, they explore the many rooms of the house, particularly the odd tower room filled with model ships of every kind and the stone room with its ancient wooden door. That door fascinates the three kids. Where does it lead? Why does it appear to have been hacked at by an axe and burned? And where are the keys that open its four locks? When Jason, the dreamer, almost falls down the cliff to the sea, he makes a discovery that fires the children’s imagination, and inspires them to unlock, literally, the mysteries of the old wooden door.
Filled with odd references to ships, secret codes and ancient languages, this first book poses more questions than it answers. Who is Nestor, the caretaker, and with whom does he communicate? Why does Oblivia Newton want Argo Manor? Is Ulysses Moore really dead, and, if not, who haunts the old house on the cliff?
Our Boys’ Book Club selected this book for their first novel. So far, it has been a terrific success!
Fern Folio Editor